Magic Johnson could run a mean fast break, but he couldn’t host a talk show. Shaquille O’Neal could bulldoze through a quintuple-team, but his acting made Keanu Reeves look like Daniel Day Lewis.

And while San Diego State can sell out its basketball arena with the rowdiest fans in the Pacific Time Zone, let’s make one thing clear -- despite its aspirations, it’s just not a football school.

Before making any decisions going forward, the university needs to recognize its true athletic identity. When considering conference realignment, SDSU must understand that men’s hoops is Gladys Knight and the other sports Pips.

Yes, this year’s football team thumped Boise State in Idaho en route to a Mountain West co-championship. But that win should be viewed as a peak, not a stepping stone toward greater heights.

The sport that has given Montezuma Mesa national exposure is basketball. The game that has morphed a commuter school into the most ardent fan base on the West Coast is basketball. And the reason the Aztecs football team needs to get back into the Mountain West is basketball.

When SDSU first committed to becoming a Big East football school, the reasoning was simple and the downside small: Besides the chance to compete in what was then a BCS conference, the prospect was expected to net the Aztecs millions of dollars per year in television money.

The only glaring problem was that the move would pit the basketball team in the second-rate Big West conference, eliminating long-standing rivalry games from the schedule while making a conference-tournament title almost compulsory to reaching the Big Dance.

But even so, the money obtained from football could have been used to help fund the basketball team – providing the program with a practice facility, chartered flights, and other boons that may have offset the demotion in competition.

Unfortunately, the Big East has become about as stable as a Lohan. There are exactly zero teams in the conference from 2002, schools such as Rutgers and Louisville have bolted within the past couple months, and Boise State announced that it was backing out of its commitment earlier this week.

At this point, trying to predict how much television money SDSU would get from the Big East is like to trying to predict the next earthquake. In either case, we’re talking about disasters -- and considering the uncertainty, shouldn't the school's priority be to protect its flagship program?

In late November, SDSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk insisted that the football program was Big East-bound, adding that he could see no scenario that could cause a change of course. Such an adamant verbal commitment seemed rash at the time, and given his statement on Monday, suggests that Boise State’s 180 caught him completely off guard.

“Today’s news (regarding Boise State), represents a significant change in conference alignment,” Sterk said. “We will continue to evaluate the situation and make decisions based on the interest of the San Diego State athletic department and the University overall.”

Here’s your best interest: Go back to the Mountain West.

Go back, because as surprising as your football team was this year, games such as the Poinsettia Bowl remind us that it isn't going to be the school’s headline act.

Go back, because the Mountain West’s RPI in men’s hoops is currently the second best in the country, and to part with that level of competition today is a surefire way to part with recruits tomorrow.

Go back, because the future of the Big East is so volatile, so unpredictable, that the risk has about 7 feet and 300 pounds on the reward.

Wednesday, a reporter from the Idaho Statesman obtained a copy of Boise State’s agreement with the Mountain West to remain an all-sports member of the conference. The contract said that San Diego State will be offered membership to the MWC before any other institution.

Additionally, since there would be no other schools west of the Rocky Mountains in the Big East, the Aztecs can potentially leave without paying exit fees.

In other words, this one is easy: Hit the reset button on the Big East ambition and stay put in the Mountain West.

Laud the SDSU athletic department for its aspirations. It had high hopes for the football program.